East Asian (5 spots!)
Updated: Mar 10, 2021
1. China Pagoda - Paterson, NJ
Parking: Metered and non-metered street parking
Setting: Primarily takeout but limited indoor seating available
Order: Sesame Chicken and General Tso's Combo (Total $17)
Chicken lo mein (Total $6.25)
Half Chicken with Fried Rice (Total $6.25)
Hands down the best Chinese takeout/fast food nearby. They're a bit old school, but that's what makes them China Pagoda (even the rude old guy lol). Over the years, the rice quality has gone down but its still better than most places.
The lo mein is another solid item on the menu for China Pagoda. The quantity and taste is very good. The only issue I had is that there were a lot more mushrooms than there were chicken pieces. Chicken lo mein not mushroom lo mein lol
2. Aisha's Chinese Halal - Newark, NJ
Parking: Metered and non-metered street parking
Setting: Primarily takeout
Order: Sesame chicken, boneless shredded BBQ chicken, BBQ beef rib tips (Total $26)
Definitely one of the best chinese takeout restaurants I've been to. The rice on it's own was tasty enough to eat alone. The meat tasted very fresh and flavorful. The shredded chicken tasted similar to teriyaki chicken. BBQ beef ribs tasted as you'd you expect, like BBQ short ribs, tender and juicy. I don't know what it was but the sesame chicken had a quality that made it taste better than sesame chicken at other places. I just recommend being careful as this part of downtown Newark is pretty dangerous.
3. Masago - Ridgewood, NJ
~Restaurant does not serve zabihah halal meat~
Parking: Metered street parking
Setting: Sit in an takeout
Order: Rockies shrimp, sunshine roll, six flags roll (Total $27)
Service was great and fast. Despite being packed they got us seated and got our food to us and we were only there for 30-40 minutes in total. It all tasted really good. When you eat the Rockies shrimp with the lettuce wrapped around it, it almost tastes like a sandwich. The six flags was soooo flavorful with the perfect amount of kick to it. The sunshine roll tasted fresh and you can actually taste the fish which was cooked pretty well for sushi
4. Taka Japanese Restaurant - Wayne, NJ
~Restaurant does not serve zabihah halal meat~
Parking: Restaurant is located in a parking lot
Setting: Sit in an takeout
Order: Miso soup, salad, sweet tea, tempura shrimp, udon soup (Total $15)
The miso soup was very good. The salad and sweetened iced tea were also pretty good. But the tempura shrimp and udon soup were bland. It didn't seem like they added much flavor to those two dishes.
5. Veggie Heaven - Montclair, NJ
~All the "meat" is not actual meat. Everything is vegan~
Parking: Metered and non-metered street parking
Setting: Sit in and takeout
Order: General Tso's Chicken with brown rice, Moo Shoo Chicken, Chicken Curry Soup with Shanghai Noodles, Chicken Noodle Soup (Total $50)
This was my first time trying fake meat and I was not disappointed, it actually tasted like real meat! The soups weren't that good in my opinion, but once we added some spicy sauce to it, it tasted better. Both soups would be great to have if you're feeling sick. The moo shoo chicken was like an Asian take of a burrito. The contents were similar to that of a chicken spring roll. My favorite dish was the General Tso's Chicken. The flavor was very good, but I wish they had gave more rice
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